If human beings have evolved and emerged, it was due to Mother Earth editing and using the powers of mutagenesis for over 3000 million years
DR. JOE D’SOUZA
There are two fields in sciences that are growing at a very rapid pace posing hopes with indomitable challenges to the future aspirations of mankind.
Curious as it may seem, as years roll by, mankind, by its wayward and selfish approach, has made life for humans on the planet extremely challenging and difficult inspite of stupendous advances in sciences and technology. Haphazard ore and natural resource extraction has destroyed the water table, polluting industries have fueled respiratory infections, cancer and physiological ailments. Uncontrolled tourism has choked our rivers with garbage and suffocated agricultural productivity. All these and many more challenges of climate change are also facing Goa.
Thus scientists are left with challenges to meet the problems of growing poverty, pollution, food scarcity, pestilence and disease. All these due to wrong political decisions, be it to build statues at the cost of health and education of our society.
Whilst astrophysicists are exploring the universe to discover other habitable planets, the “gene doctors” are working on a wide variety of options to address the problems of hunger, diseases, climate change. Recently, when one Chinese scientist managed to genetically edit embryos to produce “designer babies” immune to AIDS, there was a hue and cry, especially amongst the poor, over populous and scientifically backward third world nations, saying that “Man must not play God”.
In Goa there is only passive control of AIDS by NGOs, through social awareness programmes. No active scientific laboratory research to study the virus or to produce an AIDS vaccine.
It is this selfish dog in the manger policy of a “ritualistic society” that is condemning the poor, crowded nation to eliminate or eradicate ourselves as a society. We must realise that if human beings have evolved and emerged over 80,000 years ago, it was due to “Mother Earth” editing and using the powers of mutation or mutagenesis for over 3000 million years, before humans emerged on earth. We must accept that 3500 million years ago the earth was full of “primordial organic soup”. The solar system itself is 5000 million years old and I will leave the physics and chemistry of Mother Earth from 5000 million years to 3500 million years of the history of our planet for another essay and focus on the events after the organic soup produced a wonder molecule - the duplicating strand of DNA in a random fashion. Designer gene technology has been used about 3000 million years ago right up to this day to produce genetically engineered bacteria, by mother Nature.
If we look at the prokaryotic bacterial genome, it is just 1% the size of the eukaryotic human genome. Interestingly, the entire genetic material in the DNA is fully functional and useful, practically does all the enzymatic processes required for life and propagation, similar to the highly evolved complex human genome.
Holding back scientific terminology and explaining the intricate processes involved in molecular biology, I would only like readers to understand that the human DNA has plenty of “junk DNA” or introns, whose functions are clearly known as this portion of the DNA does not produce hormones, proteins and other metabolites but remain perhaps inactive or dormant.
The useful chromosomal DNA or the “exons” as they are called, are often not existing as a single straight continuous strand but by the process of transcription and subsequent translation of the genetic code, is engineered to produce the protein or hormone of interest like the insulin. We manufacture a car from nuts and bolts – so also a human body too consists of basic organic molecules.
So DNA, RNA, rRNA, amino acids, and other cofactors all work in tandem as a simple mega factory, using raw materials to produce enzymes.
The entire gene engineering and the preparation of edited gene products is a sequential straight forward, simple process, existing in nature for 3000 million years and not a novelty as played out to be by half-baked and ill-informed members of society. Just as we observe, the misuse and challenges of nuclear energy, similarly, gene technology like modern medicine can be subjected to multiple misuse and unforeseen consequences.
There is a long long way to go in editing and replacing defective genes which can take care of diabetes, heart ailments, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, etc., besides combating diseases like AIDS, cancer and so on.
We all take calculated risks when we visit a doctor. More often than not, many are subjected to secondary ailments due to drug over use or abuse. Even a tablet taken for common cold can cause kidney ailments in some patients, due to side effects.
As we say, fortune favours the brave and the creative minds. We must find gene technology to place the nitrogen fixing gene as well as genes responsible for photosynthesis in human beings. This would eliminate hunger and the need for chemical fertilizers in plant growth. Human beings could harness solar energy and control pollution and global warming at large.
The sky seems the limit for human creativity. Today organ transplantation is a reality. A day is not far away when the whole body of the brain dead can be used to replace the diseased body of a cancer patient with metastasis.
Ancient India had the elephant head or Ganesha. Who knows, using immune suppressants, we could achieve transplantation as a routine in the next hundred years.
